Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7x57 questions

Hi all

I have this little 7x57 that's proving to be a royal pain in the ass.
It's a Brno zkk 600 barrel is in excelent condition and there really should not be a reason this rifle will not shoot 1" groups.

Anyhow I have neen mucking about for the past summer and tried barnes x 140gr as well as speer 145gr softs in it.

with both RL19 and H414 this rifle will very consistently shoot 1.5" groups but I cannot seem to shrink them by much past that.

Also played a little with bullet seating depth and still not much luck.

So yesterday I bought some 175gr federal RN factory ammo and the rifle shot 1" groups all [bleep] day long!
Those are too heavy for my purposes and would prefer a load that would be above 2700 fps in this gun, so probably should stay with a 140gr bullet.

I have a huge collection of 7mm bullets in all weight ranges so before I go and buy even more bullets. given the fact that I have a 1:9 twist rate, Loooooonnnnggg throat and it shoots 175gr bullets well what bullet would you suggest I try next??
Barnes X was so far the best but it chokes me to pay more than a buck for a bullet.

Thanks Koedoe

156gr Norma Oryx

I went thru the same thing with my Ruger 77ts. I spent a whole summer a couple years ago trying to get it to shot 140's. I would get a bughole group once in a great while, just enough to keep me interested. But I could never get any consistency with various 139's and 140's. I shoots 154 Hornadys moa, different 160,s the same so I finally gave up. I have 2 6.5x55 that love 140 Hornady's, so I decided to use them. Another thing I found interesting, their ain't a hell of alot of difference velocity wise between 140 and 154's. One thing for sure, the 7x57 is a great killer with these slightly heavier bullets. If you do get it to shoot them, let me know how you did it. Luke

I run 160/162 grainers in mine, and can get 2750 FPS at about 56 KPSI measured. I think that is a hard to improve on combination for a lot of things. Don't be afraid to bump the bullet weight up a notch.

I generally seem to get better accuracy with heavier bullets, the big exception being trying to shoot 150 grainers in an SKS.... awful.

My experiences with the 7 x 57 are similar. The 1 in 9 twist is just too damn fast to stabilize the lightweights. I have several, and they all like the 160 and 175 stuff best. Rather than fight it, accept it and go forth with confidence, or screw on a slower twist barrel, and shoot squirrel bullets.

Wayne

I'd say try some H4350 before giving up on the 140gr class bullet. If that doesn't work (and you've already played with other variables), nothing wrong with moving up to 154-160 grainers, and nothing wrong with 1-1.5" groups with either. Good luck!

1-9 isn't too damn fast to shoot the lightweights.

Have you tried 140 accubonds? those usually shoot pretty well. For my 7x57 (8.75 twist) I settled on 140 barnes TTSX's and H4350, I can usually get 3 into an inch or slightly less , good enough for most hunting I'd think.

Koedoe, I have three 7x57s and neither one will shoot the 140 gr TSX Barnes. With all the hype about the Barnes I figured the 140gr would be a single load for antelope to moose and everything inbetween. For that matter they do not shoot any 140 gr bullet very well. Groups average 1.5 to 2" at 100 yds.

145 gr Speer Hot-Cor SP group about the same as the various 140 grainers, except for one rifle. Sub-MOA with 50 grs H4350 at 2775 fps. Obtained this only by using a Lee Crimping Die.

I agree with what has been said on this thread about moving up on bullet weights. I can get consistient MOA groups in all three rifles with the 154 gr Hornady InterLock and it is my favorite for antelope-deer in the 7x57. The 160 gr Nosler Partition really shines in the three rifles. I load it for Elk, Bear and Moose and on occasion have shot Whitetail and Mule deer with it.

Oh, rifle twists 1-8.75 9 and 10. (did not order them that way)

Good luck in getting the BRNO to shoot the way you want it.

A couple of 7x57s shoot the Speer 115gr HP like they were varmint rifles.

My 7x57 is a factory Ruger, I think is a 1:8.75 twist barrel, shoots the Hornady 139 grain Interlock over 50.5 grains of H4350 well under MOA. Several five shot groups at or slightly under 1/2 inch. Even the factory Remington 140 corelokt's shoot well under MOA for the same 5 shot groups. This rifle is a standard Mark II @ seven years old. The answer is not in the twist rate.
I would think the long throat is the problem. The longer bullets should be the answer. The 150 grain Barnes TSX, maybe? Then shoot the 150 grain Sierra Gamekings for practice.

I had one too, and it would shoot 140 gr Nosler Partitons over 50 gr of IMR-4350 so so. Plenty accurate for hunting big game. Now it shot 175 gr bullets very well, but I stuffed some 160 gr Speer SP's with the same powder and well I was putting all the shots under a dime. And I never had a problem in the field with that load or the Nosler Partition version.

I have posted this on AR recently. I have been shooting 160grain bullets normally with H414 in preperation for an upcoming hunt. So when I experimented with Reloader 15 I was pleasently surprised.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3221043/m/6281076831

BigBullet,
Nice posting. Those accubonds look like they like your rifle well enough.

Try 45 to 48 grains of H 4350 and the Hornady 154 grain Interlock. I wanted to shoot 140s in mine too, but it wouldn't shoot them that well. I tried the 154 and it shoots them great. I get well over 2800 fps with those and they kill deer like a laser beam.

Koedoe,
I have a Brno ZKK 600 in 7x57 and I think I could close my eyes, yank the trigger and still shoot 1 inch groups. It is the most accurate "big game" rifle I have. My suggestion would be to try IMR 4350. Yes my Brno shoots the heavies really well like the 170 Sierra RN. With 2.85-2.9 grams of IMR4350 it shoots Sierra 160s into 1/2-3/4 inch groups. I can get 1/2" groups with the 154 RN Hornady using the same powder. My deer hunting load for this year will feature 49.0-49.1 grains of IMR4350 and the 140 Partition - 5 shots group under 1 inch and I had one 3 shot group where all three shots overlapped one another. That rifle will shoot no doubt, you just need to find out what powder it likes.

I think I have some 154gr Hornady lying around and pretty sure I may have some 160 partitions too.
I am going to try the 154's with IMR 4350 first see what happens and go from there.

I really appreciate everyone's input and will probably try everyone's advice at some point. But will go with this first.

Being a born and bred Boer (although living in Canada)it breaks my heart having a 7x57 that wont shoot! (yet..)

I am thinking that this rifle being a modern Mauser action should be able to be loaded to 7mm/08 velocities?
What are the pressure signs to watch for when working up a load that may go slightly over max ie. 7mm/08 will be over published 7x57 loads?

Thanks again all!

Velocity is your best pressure sign. You do own a chronograph?

One thing that has not been mentioned and that is the shape of the groups you obtain, regardless of the overall accuracy of the group, is there a round shape to it, does it string its shots..etc? Is the bedding on this rifle sound? These would be on my accuracy checklist, prior to working up loads.

i would also recommend you get some Nosler Ballistic Tips or Accubonds. In 20+ years of reloading, if these bullets will not shoot out of a rifle with a good standard load (with IMR4350 or H414) there are other problems.

Throughout the years I have reloaded, I have only used one brand of primer, CCI-200 or 250's. I've just settled on it, its nothing special. But because of this I am able to read pressure signs by looking at the primer. Using differnt primers they react differently to pressure, so that is not always a good indication. For instance if my cc1-200's has a completely flattened primer, I am running close or over the max, while a flat Federal primer may not mean that at all.

Lastly, do yourself a favor and get a chronograph as Steelhead points out. 7mm-08 velocities are possible with the 7x57 as it has a slightly larger case capacity.

I couldn't hlp noticing you comment about the 170 gr. Round nose by Sierra. My Winchester M70 in 7x57 loves that bullet using W-760. (Same as H414) I supose you already know that Sierra no longer makes the 170 gr. RN (DAMMIT!)so I hope you have a decent supply.
I still have a few but I'm always scrounging at the gun show looking for more. I called Sierra about it and their attitude is they can't sell enough to do a run so there probably will never be any more made. A pox on you Sierra. It would take a very large amount of letters and E-mails to bring that one back. Guess I'll have to see how the Hornady RN's will do. Another 175 gr. bullet I liked was the one Winchester used for the 7x57. It did a nice number on der, but that one is also long gone, probably never to come back. Federal still make a load with the 175 gr. bullet but it cost me one of the only two deer I've ever lost in over 50 years of hunting. I ran some of the ammo from that box and velocity was over 200 FPS less that what was advertised. never used that stuff again.I shot the deer about 8 in the morning and the wife and I looked for that animal until the sun went down. I didn't find it until the next day when the birds showed me where I finally laid down to die. I still have two boxes from that lot of ammo. I'll probably use it one of these days in offhand practice or plinking at rocks or something. I sure as hell won't use it on game.
Paul B.